“For the first time in human history,” the global water flow cycle appears to have been thrown out of balance by our interventions, raising the risk of widespread droughts that will destroy our economies, food production and lives, according to a new landmark report.

Decades of destructive land exploitation and water mismanagement are “rivaling” the climate crisis in their damaging effects on the global water cycle, says a report released Wednesday by the World Commission on Water Economics, a group of international leaders and experts.

The water cycle refers to the complex system by which water moves around the Earth. Water evaporates from the ground—including from lakes, rivers, and plants—and rises into the atmosphere, forming large rivers of water vapor that can travel long distances before cooling, condensing, and eventually falling back to the ground as rain or snow.

Disturbances in the water cycle are already causing problems.

Almost 3 billion people face water scarcity.

Crops shrivel and cities sink as the groundwater beneath them dries up.

The consequences will be even more devastating without urgent action.

The water crisis threatens more than 50% of global food production and risks cutting an average of 8% of countries’ GDP by 2050, with much higher losses of up to 15% predicted in low-income countries, the report says. .

“For the first time in human history, we are pushing the global water cycle out of balance,” said Johan Rockström, co-chair of the World Commission on Water Management and author of the report. “Rainfall, the source of all fresh water, can no longer be relied upon.”